The use of mobile crematoria is very unlikely, says retired general Mart de Kruif. ‘As a minister, I would first verify four times whether this really happened in the past.’ Former Secretary-General of NATO Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has never heard of mobile crematoria. ‘Just the word is unbelievable. I haven’t encountered that in my career yet.’
According to De Kruif, former commander of the army, the Russians also bring their fallen soldiers home as much as possible, so that the family has the opportunity to say goodbye. “I’ve never seen instances where that didn’t happen.”
The video that the British distributed is not sufficient evidence, says Dick Zandee of research institute Clingendael. ‘This is a performance of the regular Russian army, then you have to see army vehicles with distinguishing marks, not images of a vehicle from an advertising video. That means nothing.’
De Kruif wonders what the British Defense Minister wants to achieve with this. ‘It is the ultimate dehumanization of your opponent. But you don’t need this for that. The images of the cluster bombs also say enough.’ An information war is being waged mainly from the Kremlin, but according to Zandee you could see this video as a counterattack from the West. The British are the most anti-Russian in all of Europe. But if you come up with something like that, it still applies: prove it.’
It is also unlikely that cremation of soldiers on site would have the supposed desired effect, thinks De Kruif. “Mothers will still miss their sons if they don’t come home. And what effect will it have on the troops, seeing what fate awaits them should they die?’
The press attaché of the Russian embassy in the Netherlands was asked for a response on Wednesday, but has not made use of that opportunity to date.